Monday, February 24, 2014
PORTLAND, Ore. - Seven players from six different schools have won Red Lion GNAC Player of the Week honors for the Week of Feb. 17-23.
The honorees include basketball players Kyle Fossman of Alaska Anchorage, Sango Niang of Simon Fraser and Suzanna Ohlsen of Seattle Pacific, baseball players Brad Birch and Matt Eames of Montana State Billings and softball players Ashlie Gardner of Western Oregon and Maria Gau of Central Washington.
The honorees:
Men’s Basketball: Kyle Fossman, Alaska Anchorage (G, 6-0, Sr., Haines, AK) and Sango Niang, Simon Fraser (G, 6-0, Jr., Paris, France - Chaffey) .... Fossman scored 58 points including 40 in Saturday’s 96-77 win against Western Oregon, as the Seawolves clinched a GNAC post-season berth with a pair of victories. Fossman made 19 of 27 field goals, including 17 of 25 three-pointers increasing his career three-point total to 248 (5th best in GNAC history). He also set a GNAC single-game record making 12 three-pointers (in 16 attempts) against the Wolves, breaking the old conference mark of 10 shared by three players ... Niang had 63 points and 21 assists, producing a pair of double-doubles, as the Clan split two games. He scored 36 points and had 11 assists in Thursday’s 112-99 win against Central Washington, scoring the second most points in GNAC history in a game in which the player also had at least 10 assists. He followed that up with a 27-point, 10-assist performance in Saturday’s 98-90 loss to Northwest Nazarene. Niang made 19 of 29 field goal attempts and was perfect (20-of-20) from the foul line. His double-digit assist games were his first two of the season.
Honorable Mention – Austin Bragg, Western Washington (C, 6-9, Sr., Longview, WA – Clark CC); Kevin Rima, Northwest Nazarene (F, 6-6, Jr., Fairbanks, AK – Hutchinson); Mark McLaughlin, Central Washington (G, 6-6, Sr., Bothell, WA – Tacoma CC); Devon Alexander, Western Oregon (G, 6-1, So., Fontana, CA – Summit); David Downs, Seattle Pacific (G, 6-2, Sr., Kirkland, WA – Bellevue Christian); Evan Coulter, Saint Martin’s (G, 5-10, Sr., Mount Vernon, WA – Whatcom CC).
Women’s Basketball: Suzanna Ohlsen, Seattle Pacific (G, 5-7, Jr., Monroe, WA – Monroe) pumped in a career-high 25 points – accounting for nearly half of the Falcons' total of 54 – and also grabbed a career-high eight rebounds - leading them to a 54-44 victory at Saint Martin's Thursday. Ohlsen hit 10-of-12 from the floor, including 3-of-4 from downtown, handed out three assists, and had four steals, converting all four into coast-to-coast lay-ups. She scored seven points during a decisive 10-0 run that snapped a 28-28 tie and put SPU in front for good at 38-28. She followed that with 12 points, six rebounds, five assists, and one steal on Saturday as the Falcons won at Western Oregon 76-64. Ohlsen also hit all four of her free throws for the week, extending her streak to 31 in a row and pushing her GNAC-leading average above 90 percent to 90.4.
Honorable Mention – Kiki Robertson, Alaska Anchorage (G, 5-7, Fr., Honolulu, HI – Mid-Pacific Institute); Chelsie Luke, Northwest Nazarene (G, 5-9, Sr., Meridian, ID – Meridian); Megan Wiedeman, Saint Martin’s (F, 6-0, So., Sammamish, WA – Skyline); Dana Goularte, Western Oregon (F, 6-0, Jr., Port Orchard, WA – South Kitsap); Katie Colard, Western Washington (G, 5-9, Jr., McCleary, WA – Elma).
Baseball: Player – Brad Birch, Montana State Billings (3B, 6-2, Sr., Eugene, OR – Treasure Valley CC) went 6-for-14 with two doubles, a home run, five runs scored, three RBI and 11 total bases in the Yellowjackets’ series against Dixie State. In Game 2 Saturday, Birch’s seventh-inning solo home run proved to be the decisive factor in MSUB’s first win of 2014, 5-4 over DSU. Birch also walked once and was hit by a pitch, pushing his on-base percentage to .500 (8-for-16) on the week. The senior struck out just twice while slugging .786, and he also handled all 18 chances at third base – three put outs and 15 assists – flawlessly. Pitcher – Matt Eames, Montana State Billings (RHP, 6-4, Sr., Billings, MT – Columbia Basin College) tossed seven stellar innings for the Yellowjackets against Dixie State on Friday, logging a no-decision in a 2-1 loss to the Red Storm. Eames allowed one run and three hits with one walk and three strikeouts. Eames did not allow a hit until the fourth inning, and the senior lowered his season ERA to 4.09 with the performance.
Honorable Mention – Matt Taylor, Western Oregon (OF, 6-1, Jr., Corona, CA – Lane CC); Eric Huson, Western Oregon (RHP, 6-3, Jr., Forest Grove, OR – Mt. Hood CC); Zach Carter, Saint Martin's (RHP, 6-0, Jr., Camas, WA - Camas).
Softball: Player – Ashlie Gardner, Western Oregon (IF, 5-7, Sr., Salem, OR – North Salem) earned all-tournament honors at the Rattler Invitational at San Antonio, Tex., batting .350 and leading the Wolves with six RBI. She had seven hits in 20 at bats, including two doubles and a home run as WOU won four of the six contests. Pitcher – Maria Gau, Central Washington (5-7, Sr., Woodinville, WA) allowed just three runs and 15 hits in 18 innings, winning two of three decisions during a weekend road trip to California. She walked five and fanned 12.
Honorable Mention – Eryka Brill, Western Oregon (P, 6-1, Sr., Dallas, OR); Justine Callen, Northwest Nazarene (P, 5-9, So., Oregon City, OR – Clackamas CC); Brianna Kinghorn, Northwest Nazarene (1B, 5-6, Jr., Meridian, ID – Mountain View).